Parenting Evaluation Decision Framework:
Needs Assessment

Your review of established vision, your personal perspectives, and the perspectives of others will enable you to identify the issue or problem you want to address with a program. This identification can be shaped in terms to meet the interests of your stakeholders. Now it is time to identify your clientele and to assess their specific needs and assets to tailor your program to be most effective for your target audience. Identify the specific needs and assets of your target audience before you select a program strategy or curriculum to implement.

WHO should be assessed or asked about needs? Ask key informants, e.g. local decision makers, local stakeholders, members of the target audience you are already working with, and local agency personnel who work directly with those you believe will be the intended audience. Key people are not necessarily elected officials, but are people in the community who are respected, listened to, and knowledgeable. Involve African-American, Hispanic and other families from diverse backgrounds in program development.

HOW will an assessment be completed? Examples include focus groups, interviews, written or telephone interviews, and self-report surveys. It is often useful to recruit a task force of key people in the community concerned about the issue. Be sure your target audience is well represented on the task force. Ask your task force to help you develop criteria for selection of program strategies and curricula. Encourage the task force to adopt a consensus approach to deal with issues. A decision reached by consensus is a decision each participant can live with without sabotaging the decision.

Review the available social indicators related to the issue you have selected: the percentages, increases and decreases in factors such as abuse, birth, pregnancy rate, etc. If you have an ongoing involvement with your target audience, you can ask yourself: Are clientele that you think should come to programs continuing to participate? Are they dropping out? Why? Are you finding out from clientele who are dropping out why they dropped out of the program? Is lack of transportation or child care reducing participation in your program? Are there other barriers? How well have you connected with your target audience regarding different ethnic groups, different ideological views, etc.? Do you tend to find comfort in hiding behind your materials, an overhead projector, or a curriculum instead of connecting one-on-one or small groups with your participants? How might you better connect with your targeted audience?

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